by Chris Allen

"Dive! Dive! All dive!" Commander Chip Morton issued the order and then turned to Captain Lee Crane. "What are your orders now, Lee?"

Lee Crane consulted the maps on the chart table once more. He ran his hands anxiously through this hair. "The weather topside is too rough for surface running, let’s level off at two hundred feet and then proceed at standard."

"Two hundred feet. Standard. Aye sir." The executive officer gave his orders and then walked slowly around the control room of the submarine, Seaview, checking instruments and confirming that the orders had been carried out. He returned to the chart table to consult once more with the captain. "Lee, we are getting a lot of reports of seismic activity in the area. Does the Admiral still want to proceed with the mission?"

"You know the Admiral, Chip," smiled Crane, "he’s not about to abort a mission just because of a few earthquakes."

"Or tidal waves?" added Chip, smiling.

Lee grinned. "The Admiral wants very much to find Professor Davidson and his party. The professor is not only a brilliant archaeologist but also a good friend of the Admiral. And don’t forget we have Professor Davidson’s wife on board."

"How could I forget. She’s very anxious to find her husband. I think she has spent more time looking through these charts than anyone else. By the way, where is she right now? I would expect she would want to be here when we locate the island."

"I believe she’s getting ready to join the search." Crane shrugged his shoulders and nodded in agreement at Chip’s look of surprise. "Yes, Chip, she talked the Admiral into letting her go along with the search party." Chip shook his head in disbelief.

"Skipper, there’s more seismic activity on the ocean floor," reported Kowalski who was manning sonar.

"How far away?" asked Crane.

"Right below us, skipper. Lots of small aftershocks, nothing big but it’s pretty unstable down there." Crane approached Kowalski and listened on the headset to confirm the readings.

Crane picked up the microphone. "Admiral, would you come to the control room."

"Right away, Lee," answered Admiral Nelson.

********************

Captain Crane explained to the Admiral the condition of the ocean floor beneath them but Nelson was determined to continue with the search. Once they had located the island, the plan was for the Seaview to surface and the search party was to approach the island in inflatable rafts. There were too many reefs and underwater obstructions for the Seaview to get too close. The whole island had been having a great deal of seismic activity in the last few days and the Professor’s last report, three days ago, had been a call for help, something about some of the party being trapped in a cave. There had been no word from the Professor or anyone from his party since that last report. Professor Davidson had been exploring the uncharted caves on the island, looking for evidence of a lost civilization. Other than a few cave drawings, he had not found any other signs, at least not since his last radio contact with the Seaview.

"Well, Lee, you’d better get the gear together for the search party. Those seismic reports don’t look good so you will have to get in and out as quickly as possible before that whole island breaks up."

"I’ve asked for volunteers only for this mission, Admiral," remarked Crane, "it’s going to be difficult locating the Professor and his party. That island is riddled with caves, he could be trapped in any one of them."

"And time is certainly not on our side, Lee." Admiral Nelson was worried for the safety of his friend, Professor Davidson, but also for the safety of the men who had volunteered to be part of the search party.

Elaine Davidson entered the control room at that moment. The Admiral looked up and was about to speak to her but she held up her hand as if to silence him. "Don’t say it, Admiral, I know you don’t want me to go. I know the island is about to break apart, but nothing is stopping me from going to find James, nothing."

"Alright, Elaine." Admiral Nelson knew when he was beaten. "I’ve tried everything to dissuade you but if you insist on going you are to be treated as one of the crew. That means you are to follow Captain Crane’s orders. If he feels the situation is becoming too dangerous and wishes to abort the mission, then you are to listen to him. There are to be no heroics. Is that understood?"

"You’re not going, Admiral?" asked Elaine.

"Unfortunately not. This knee of mine is still giving me trouble and Doc insists I stay aboard Seaview. But Doc will be joining the search party. James and his party may need medical attention once they are found."

"Excuse me, Skipper." Kowalski reported. "There is a contact at 1000 yards. It could be the island."

Crane turned to Morton. "Dead slow, Mr. Morton."

"Dead slow, aye Skipper."

"How’s the weather topside?"

"Much improved, Skipper. It should be OK to surface now."

"Very well, surface."

"Blow all ballast, prepare to surface!"

*************

The seas were still choppy and the rescue party had to board the inflatable rafts carefully. Captain Crane, Commander Morton, Elaine Davidson and Kowalski headed off in one boat and Chief Sharkey, Riley, Patterson and Doc boarded the other. They towed a third empty raft in the hopes that they would be successful and bring back some survivors. They had a difficult time getting past the reefs but they finally reached the shore. They had landed at the same beach as Professor Davidson had three weeks ago. They hoped to find some sign as to which caves he had been exploring.

They easily located the camp. Everything looked deserted. They checked the tents but there was no one around. The radio was not working. It looked as if there had been a small earthquake because things had been knocked over, including the radio. There were plenty of supplies left in the supply tent but some of the food crates had fallen and broken open. It looked as if some small animals had been enjoying a feast on the spilled goods.

"We’ll form two search parties," ordered Crane. "Chief, you take Kowalski, Riley and Patterson and search to the east. Fire your rifle three times if you spot anything. Mr. Morton and I will go west with Mrs. Davidson and Doc. Keep in radio contact every fifteen minutes."

"Aye, sir." Chief Sharkey hesitated for a moment. "Uh, skipper, . . what about earthquakes?"

Crane smiled. "Well, Chief, if things start moving about too much, head for the boats as fast as you can!"

"Aye, skipper." Sharkey looked at the three crew members sitting nearby. "Come on you three, quit sitting around waiting for the earth to swallow you up. Let’s get moving!" Kowalski, Patterson and Riley jumped up, gathered their equipment and started moving out, heading east.

Crane and Morton picked up their survival gear and helped Doc with his medical supplies. Then they headed off, with Elaine Davidson right behind them. It was rough going. There seemed to be a small trail through the jungle that could have been made by the Davidson party so they decided to follow that. Every fifteen minutes they checked in with Sharkey. Neither group had found anything yet. They kept in radio contact with Seaview and apprised Nelson of their progress from time to time. After following the jungle trail for almost an hour the ground started to get rougher and rocky and the path steepened. They stopped to rest and to report in to Sharkey and then to Seaview. Sharkey’s group had not found anything either. They decided to return to camp and expand the search in different directions. It didn’t seem possible that the Professor would be exploring caves so far from the campsite.

As Crane and his party began to turn back, they heard a strange sound coming from one of the large outcroppings of rock. It sounded like someone tapping. They stopped to listen and then began to walk around the rock formation looking for some kind of an opening. The tapping sound had stopped. They called out to see if anyone could hear them but they heard nothing in reply.

Suddenly they felt a slight tremor under their feet. They all held their breath, waiting for the rumbling to increase but all was quiet again. They continued their search of the rock face, looking for an opening. They had almost given up when Morton shouted that he had found something.

"What do you see, Chip?" asked Lee.

"Over here, Lee. It’s a small opening."

The others came over to where Chip was standing. Sure enough, among a huge pile of boulders was a small crevice. It looked as if half the side of the rock formation had come down and covered up most of the opening. Crane and Morton got busy moving some of the smaller boulders and soon had a good-sized opening, big enough for a man to crawl through. Then they heard the tapping sound again. It sounded a lot closer and seemed to be coming from inside the opening.

Crane reported their findings to Sharkey and to Admiral Nelson on the Seaview. Sharkey and his crew were coming to join them. Meanwhile, Crane and Morton decided to crawl into the cave entrance to see if they could find the source of the tapping.

"I’m coming too," said Elaine Davidson. "That might be my husband in there!"

"No, you stay outside with Doc until Mr. Morton and I check it out." Elaine was about to protest when Crane held up his hand and said: "That’s an order, Mrs. Davidson."

Elaine could see that it was no use arguing with Captain Crane. Doc convinced her to help him unpack the medical supplies in case they were needed.

Crane and Morton had to crawl on their hands and knees to get into the cave but when they got inside it was considerably larger and they were able to stand. They shone their flashlights all around the cave walls but could see no sign of anyone else having been there before them.

"Look over there, Lee," yelled Chip. "It looks like a pack." In one corner of the cave was a survival pack. They searched further into the cave and found another big pile of boulders that seemed to be blocking the passage. They carefully moved a few boulders aside and were able to crawl through into another section of the cave. They shone their flashlights around again and were shocked to find a number of bodies lying on the cave floor.

"Skipper, is everything okay?" Doc inquired from the cave entrance.

"You better get in here, Doc. We’ve found them."

"I’m coming too," declared Elaine Davidson.

"No, wait out there!" ordered Crane. He didn’t want her to see the bodies. One of them may be her husband.

"No, I’m coming in!" And before Doc could stop her, Elaine crawled through the first opening and was soon standing there, staring at the bodies, her hand over her mouth. Doc followed right behind her, dragging his medical supplies through the tiny entrance. He checked the bodies and shook his head. They had all suffocated from lack of air. There was one more body over in the corner.

"This man is still alive. Bring the other flashlights over here!" Doc quickly got to work, checking his patient. "Bring the oxygen over here, quick!" Morton brought the canister over to him and Doc started administering the oxygen. Elaine came over and watched, still in shock.

"It’s James!" she gasped. "Oh, thank God he’s still alive!"

"Just barely," announced Doc. "Skipper, we have to get him back to Seaview as quickly as possible."

"Right, Doc. Chip help me move him over to the entrance and . . . . . " Suddenly the ground began to tremble It was a low rumble at first but then it sounded as if a train was coming right at them. The shaking of the floor knocked them off their feet. The walls were vibrating so hard that rocks began to tumble down from overhead. Large cracks appeared in the floor of the cave. The noise was so loud it hurt their ears. The dust was so thick they couldn’t see anything. Then the whole cave seemed to collapse on top of them as they held up their arms to protect themselves. Then there was nothing but silence.

*************

Chief Sharkey, Kowalski and Riley had started heading towards the coordinates that the Skipper had given them. They had also been in radio contact with the Seaview. The Admiral was sending more men to the site with stretchers and more medical supplies.

"Here we go again!" yelled Kowalski, as the ground started to tremble slightly.

"Don’t worry about it, Ski," said Sharkey, "its just another little tremor. Come on, let’s get a move on. The Skipper . . . ." The Chief’s "little tremor" was quickly turning into a very large rumble and then the whole earth seemed to be breaking up. The men were knocked off their feet, the trees were swaying and branches were breaking all around them. Huge trees smashed to the ground, barely missing them. The noise was incredible, like a giant sonic boom that kept echoing and echoing. And then it was quiet, so quiet that the men didn’t dare to speak, as if disturbing the silence might start the whole nightmare all over again.

"Man, oh man," whispered Riley. "Are you guys, OK?"

The Chief and Kowalski stood up slowly. They were all uninjured but it took a while for them to recover from the shock of the experience. "Come on you guys, let’s get going. If the Skipper and the others were inside the cave when that thing hit . . . ." They all looked at each other. Sharkey didn’t need to finish the sentence.

*************

"Skipper, Skipper, can you hear me?" Doc was gently shaking Crane, trying to rouse him.

Crane opened his eyes slowly. He saw the dim light of a flashlight. It was hard to breathe; the air was thick with dust. "I’m OK, Doc." He tried to get to a sitting position when a sudden stab of pain went through his leg. "My leg. It’s caught." Doc moved down to look at where Crane was indicating. The Captain’s right leg was caught under a large boulder.

"I’ll try to move the boulder off, Skipper. Hang on." After a few tries, Doc managed to heave the boulder over to one side, freeing Crane. He examined the leg gently. "I’m afraid your ankle is broken, Skipper. Hold on. I’ll try to find the medical supplies."

"Never mind me, Doc. What about the others?"

"Professor Davidson is right next to me. He’s still in a bad way. I only found you, no one else yet. It’s hard to see anything, Skipper. My flashlight is barely working. I’ve tried calling but no one answers. Do you still have your flashlight?" Lee reached around to locate his survival pack which was lying near him. His flashlight was next to it. He was rewarded with a bright beam of light as he switched it on. Crane slowly shone the flashlight around the cave. There was someone beginning to move about over in the far corner. The men heard a soft moan. Doc quickly made his way over the piles of rocks and found Elaine Davidson. There was no sign of Chip.

Lee started to drag himself over to where Doc was helping Elaine, but the pain that shot through his leg forced him to stay where he was. He continued to move the beam of light slowly around the cave, looking for Chip.

Doc had revived Elaine. She was not badly injured, just a lot of bruises and scrapes like the other two. They came over to where Lee was lying. Elaine went over to her husband.

"Skipper, I’m going to give you a shot for the pain and then I have to set that ankle. Once that bone is back in place you will feel a lot better." Doc managed to locate the hypodermic needle and administered the shot. He found the splints and bandages and then looked down at Lee. "Are you ready?"

"Go ahead, Doc." As Doc manoeuvred Crane’s foot into position for splinting, Lee grimaced as waves of pain shot up his leg. The shot had dulled the pain somewhat but it was still excruciating. Once the ankle was positioned and splinted, Lee was relieved to find that he could move about a bit as long as he was careful not to bump his ankle.

"We’ve got to find Chip." Lee’s voice was showing the anxiety he felt. He was worried about Chip and also concerned that Sharkey and the others may not find them until it was too late. The air was already getting stale. Soon they wouldn’t be able to breathe.

*************

Admiral Nelson was pacing about in the observation nose. The reports from Sharkey were not good. There had been no contact with the Skipper and his party since the big earthquake hit. Seaview had been tossed about by the waves set off by the earthquake on the island. Nelson had his own problems with supervising the repairs to the Seaview. A number of the crew had been slightly injured. He had dispatched another ten crewmembers to join Sharkey’s party on the island. Nelson didn’t like standing around waiting. He cursed his injured knee that had stopped him from joining the rest of them on the rescue mission. He gazed out the large windows toward the island where he had sent his men. All he could do now was wait.

*************

Lee Crane hobbled around the cave, turning over rocks, searching desperately for his friend. Chip had been standing near him when the quake struck but with all the piles of rock around, Lee feared that Chip may have been completely buried. Doc and Elaine were searching around the other piles of rocks on the other side of the cave, calling for Chip, hoping for a sign.

Lee sat down to rest his leg for a minute. It was starting to really hurt again. Doc had warned him to stay off it as much as possible, but it wasn’t the first time that Lee had refused to obey Doc’s orders. As he sat there, looking around the cave, he noticed a small rock moving very slightly not ten feet from where he was. He stared at the rock, fascinated, not quite comprehending what was happening. The rock moved again and then it rolled away from the pile, coming to a stop at Lee’s feet. Lee watched mesmerized as another rock started to move and then a few more. Chip!!

"Doc, over here, quick!!" yelled Crane as he leapt to his feet, forgetting about his ankle and quickly falling back down again. He got up again but more carefully and made his way to the moving pile of rocks. He and Doc began frantically pushing the rocks aside and were greeted by the sight of the face of a very badly injured Chip Morton who managed a weak smile.

"What kept you?" he joked, in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Lie still, Commander, don’t try to move," warned Doc, "I need to check you out first."

"Don’t worry, Doc, I’m not going anywhere." Chip closed his eyes again.

Lee and Doc removed the rest of the rubble from Chip’s body and Doc examined him as carefully as he could despite the dim light. Lee felt a great sense of relief that Chip was alive but he didn’t need to be a doctor to see that Chip was in a bad way.

"How is he, Doc?" asked Crane, very concerned for his friend.

"He’s not in very good shape. It looks as if he has a number of broken bones along with a concussion, but my main concern is the possibility of internal injuries. I need to get him back to Seaview to examine him properly." Doc gazed around the small cave in which they were trapped. "And right now it doesn’t look too likely that we will be getting out of here any time soon."

"Sharkey and the others have our location," Crane reminded him, "they should be here shortly to dig us out."

"If they survived the earthquake," said Doc. He and Lee looked at each other. Lee had been thinking the same thing.

Elaine came over and brought another flashlight she had found. She helped Doc bandage Chip. He couldn’t do much else for him with the limited medical supplies that they had brought. Doc gave Chip a shot for the pain. They had a small supply of drinking water and Chip could only manage a small sip before he lapsed into unconsciousness once again.

Lee was relieved that they had found Chip and now he turned his attention to figuring out how to get out of the cave. There was no telling how long it might take Sharkey to find them. Lee struggled over to the huge pile of rock that blocked the entrance. He knew he had to dig through this pile and then hope that the main entrance hadn’t also been blocked. He began to push the heavy rocks aside, one by one. He couldn’t stand up so he sat down, heaving the rocks to one side. After checking on his two patients, Doc joined the Skipper for a while. Together they moved some of the larger rocks. It was hard work and they had to rest often. They were rapidly using up what little air there was left.

*************

Sharkey and his party had followed Crane’s directions and were nearing the area where the jungle started to give way to a more mountainous area. They scoured the rocky trail for any signs of Crane’s party. Sharkey had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was almost certain that the Skipper and his group had been inside the cave when the earthquake hit.

"Over here, Chief!" yelled Kowalski. "It’s one of their packs!"

Sharkey and Riley headed over to where Kowalski was standing, holding a survival pack in his hands. Next to it was a rifle. They started to look around for an opening but there seemed to be piles of rock and rubble everywhere. There was no sign of any cave entrance.

"Start calling for them," ordered Sharkey. "Maybe they will be able to hear us."

The three of them began to search through the piles of rocks, calling for the Skipper and Doc and Commander Morton. Then they would stop for a while and listen to see if anyone was answering. Nothing. They kept trying but it was useless. No one could still be alive under all that rock.

*************

It was getting hard to breathe. They had one canister of oxygen with them. Doc was using it to keep Professor Davidson alive. Chip began to have difficulty breathing so Doc took the canister over to Chip. He began to go back and forth between the two men, sharing what little oxygen there was.

"Doc, you had better have some of that. We can’t have you collapsing on us," ordered Crane.

"They need all they can get," protested Doc.

"You won’t be any help to them if you pass out. Take your share along with Chip and the Professor." Doc looked at the Skipper doubtfully. "That’s an order, Doc."

Crane and Mrs. Davidson had refused to take any of the oxygen. They knew that Professor Davidson and Chip needed it much more than they did and Doc had no choice but to take a share. He was needed. Crane knew that he and Elaine Davidson were the most expendable. Elaine had taken Doc’s place, helping Lee push the rocks out of the way. The two of them sat down to take a break. They leaned against the wall of the cave, totally exhausted. Crane couldn’t believe how Doc could keep on going, tending his patients, giving them the small whiffs of oxygen that were barely enough to keep them alive.

"If Sharkey and the others manage to find this place, we have to let them know where we are," said Crane. He handed a rock to Elaine. "I think your husband had the right idea."

"What do you mean, Captain?" queried Elaine.

"I think that the tapping sound we heard when we were outside the cave was your husband banging a rock on the wall. He was the only one alive when we got here. It must have been him. Come on, let’s see if we can attract someone’s attention. They should be out there by now." Crane began banging the rock against the cave wall and Elaine soon joined him. They started taking turns so that they could conserve their energy as much as possible. They prayed that someone outside would be able to hear them.

*************

An hour later, Doc approached the Captain who was struggling to lift the rock with his arm. His movements were becoming slower with the lack of oxygen but he kept at it, determined to signal Sharkey and the others. Elaine was lying motionless beside him, her eyes were closed. She was barely breathing.

"Skipper," said Doc. "That’s it. The canister is empty. I can’t do anything more for them." Crane just nodded not knowing what to say. Doc slumped down next to his captain, feeling totally defeated, unable to help his patients anymore.

***************

Sharkey had radioed Seaview with a progress report. Unfortunately, the news was not good. He and Riley and Kowalski had searched and searched for an opening but could find nothing. They had called out to the Skipper and the others but there had been no answer. The other men from the Seaview had just arrived and Sharkey was hoping that with the extra manpower they might get lucky. But would they be in time? How much air could there be inside that huge pile of rock? Sharkey glanced down at the survival pack they had found. He spotted the rifle. The signal! The Skipper had said to fire three shots if they found something. If anyone was alive inside the cave they should be able to hear the rifle shots! Sharkey grabbed the rifle and quickly fired three shots into the air, startling the men nearby.

"What’s up, Chief?" asked Kowalski. "Did you find something?"

"No, Ski, but maybe the Skipper couldn’t hear our voices calling him. If he’s still alive, I bet he heard those rifle shots! Shhhh! Everybody quiet!" ordered the Chief.

The men positioned themselves around the cave area and listened, hoping, praying for a sound.

*************

"What was that?" Lee opened his eyes, wondering what had awakened him. It had sounded like three muffled booms as if someone had fired a cannon far away. Rifle shots! That’s what it was. They were out there! Lee struggled to sit up. He had to find a way to signal them. Had they heard him banging on the wall? He looked around the cave. There was only a faint glow from the one remaining flashlight. He tried to rouse Doc who had fallen asleep next to him.

"Doc, Doc, wake up! They’re out there!" Doc managed to open his eyes and then as the Skipper’s message got through to his brain he slowly sat up and looked questioningly at Crane.

"I heard three rifle shots, Doc!" The Skipper was frantically looking for something that would make a loud noise. He spied the empty oxygen canister. Gasping for breath, Crane dragged himself over to the canister and picked it up and then looked around for something else to use. He spotted one of the survival packs. There were some food supplies inside. Not much but . . . Crane grabbed a small can of food and then began banging the can and the canister together as hard as he could. He barely had enough breath to talk so yelling for help was out of the question. Doc grabbed another can of food and started banging the canister too. They kept at it, praying that someone could hear them.

*************

"Listen!" yelled Sharkey. "I hear something!" The rescue party all gathered around Sharkey and then as they realized the sound was coming from a huge pile of rocks just a few feet away, they all began to heave the boulders aside looking for an opening. The sound from inside the cave continued for a while longer but then began to grow fainter until the rescue party could no longer hear it. But now they knew where to look.

"I found it, Chief!" yelled Kowalski. "It’s a small opening. It must be the cave entrance!" The men used their shovels and picks and their bare hands as they frantically removed the rocks from the entrance. It took them almost thirty minutes to dig their way inside. Their progress was blocked by another pile of boulders. They took turns working inside the small, enclosed space. Finally, Sharkey yanked at one very large boulder and hundreds of smaller rocks came loose. When the dust settled, there was another opening. As Sharkey peered inside he spotted a very faint glow of a flashlight.

"We found them!" yelled Sharkey as he clambered over piles of rocks and found the Skipper and Doc laying unconscious next to an empty cylinder of oxygen. "Oxygen, get some in here, quick!" ordered Sharkey as he tried to rouse the Skipper. He checked his pulse. It was faint but he was still alive. Sharkey breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on you guys, they need air in here!"

*************

A week later, Admiral Nelson stood in the observation nose, thankful that his men had come back alive from the island. Even Professor Davidson was making a good recovery. Doc said he had almost lost Chip. His injuries had been quite severe but he, too, was on the mend. The Admiral turned to see Captain Crane hobbling down the spiral stairway and heading to join the Admiral in the nose. Crane collapsed gratefully into a chair and looked up at the Admiral.

"You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to get around in a submarine on only one good leg. All those sills to climb over and hatches to open and shut." Lee grinned up at his good friend.

"Well, Lee, it’s just a relief to know that you are all going to be OK. I must have aged ten years worrying about all of you on that island."

"You know, Admiral, we’ve had our share of being tossed around aboard the Seaview but I’ve never experienced anything as violent as that earthquake. When those cave walls came tumbling down, I thought it was all over for us."

"It very nearly was. Sharkey and the others got to you just in time."

"It’s too bad about Professor Davidson’s men. They weren’t as lucky as we were. I guess he’ll never find his lost civilization now."

Admiral Nelson nodded in agreement. "I’m just glad the rest of you didn’t become a part of that lost civilization." Nelson looked down at his captain and smiled. "Well, Lee, should we head for home or would you like to find some other caves to explore?"

"I’ll set a course for Santa Barbara immediately, sir!" Lee laughed and hobbled over to the chart table to set a course for home.

The End